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110 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



TEEE MIGNONETTE. 



iJOMMON Mignonette is so well known that it is super- 

 fluous to say a word about it. It is to the culture of 

 it as standards for the winter decoration of the con- 

 servatory that I would now direct attention. 



I generally sow in four-inch pots, about the end of 

 March or beginning of April, according to the number of standards 

 required. The soil I use is maiden loam and leaf-mould in equal 

 quantities, with a little well-rotted manure and sand added. I drain 

 and fill the pots in the usual waj-, but do not press the soil too 

 firmly ; I smooth the surface, and put a pinch of seed in the centre 

 of each pot. I cover thinly with fine sifted soil ; water gently ; and 

 remove the pots to the stove ; or, if that is not available, to a hot- 

 bed, and the plants soon make their appearance. As soon as they 

 have grown a little, I pull all out but three of the strongest near the 

 centre of the pot. After all danger of their damping-off has in a 

 great measure passed, I remove the two weakest, and tie the other 

 to a neat stake. I repot as the plants require it, and remove the 

 lateral buds as soon as they make their appearance in the axils of 

 the leaves, at the same time preserving the leaves on the stem care- 

 fully. The flower will soon make its appearance on the top of the 

 stem ; I remove it at once, and allow the highest lateral bud to grow 

 to form the next leader to be tied to the stake as soon as possible ; I 

 remove the lateral buds as before, and so on till the stem is the 

 desired height. 



When the stem is the height required, I cut off the top, and 

 allow four or five of the highest lateral buds to grow. As soon as 

 they have pushed a little I pinch them, leaving only two buds on 

 each ; I allow them to start a little, and then remove the plants to a 

 cool greenhouse, where they get plenty of air ; I continue to pinch 

 regularly as the plants grow, till the heads are the desired size 

 (which will be about the end of September or middle of October), 

 when they will require their final shift, using eight or nine-inch pots, 

 according to the size of the plants. I procure some iron wire for 

 supports, or neat wooden stakes. After being inserted into the pots 

 they must stand two or three inches above the head of the plant, to 

 allow all the laterals forming the head to be suspended from them 

 with small pieces of bast. If they are not tied up carefully they 

 will, as they grow, droop down and break, as Mignonette is a plant 

 of straggling habit. 



Treated in the above way, Mignonette will flower freely till the 

 time when there is plenty to be had out-of-doors, when the plants 

 may be thrown away. I prefer growing from seed every season. 

 The little extra trouble required is amply compensated by the neat, 

 compact form of the heads of the young plants. 



Amateurs will soon find that there is a great difference in the 

 habit of individual plants of Mignonette when growing for standards. 

 Some of the heads will assume a neat, compact form, with fine broad 

 foliage, while others will be of an opposite character. Seed should 



